How to Buy Gold Bullion

It's no secret that the world financial markets are in a lot of trouble right now. Liquidity is a big concern, and securities are plummeting in value. Loan defaults are causing one economy after another to crash. The historic hedge against shaky times like these has been gold.

Gold can be purchased in several different forms, but they are not all the same. Gold bullion ingots are also commonly referred to as "gold bars", and they come in various weights. They should be stamped with the weight and gold purity. Even with these markings, gold ingots are not the preferred way to invest in gold. It's relatively easy to fake a gold ingot using a heavy metal and a gold (either real or fake) coating. For this reason, it can be hard to sell gold ingots without an arduous verification process.

The best way to buy physical gold is with gold coins. Several governments produce gold coins that have a guaranteed weight and purity. These coins can be graded by several companies, who will also be able to verify that they are real. This is a much simpler process than verifying a gold bullion ingot.

If you really want to invest in gold, you don't want to buy a gold coin with significant collector value. That is, you want to buy a newer coin that hasn't been deemed rare and therefore "extra valuable" by the coin collecting community. After all, you want to buy gold, not collect coins.

The newer gold coins produced by governments that are trusted in the gold community are the following:
- Gold Vienna Philharmonic
- Gold American Buffalo
- Gold American Eagle
- Gold Canadian Maple Leaf
- Gold South African Krugerrand